Zero Popularity
by inashosetai
Summary: Inuyasha waits. Kikyo doesn't. Sango's just there. Kagome just reappears. And Onigumo is the least expecting to the princess's whims.


**Summary:** What the hell kind of story is this?

**Disclaimer:** All InuYasha Cast © Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

**Zero Popularity**

He could stop writing now.

That was what he thought.

But he could never forget. Not even if he stopped writing.

Lifting his gaze to the sky, he watched the fluffy clouds move in a slow motion. Mother had finally made up her mind. He was engaged, and whether he liked it or not, he couldn't escape the engagement. When he thought about it, he guessed Mother only wanted what was best for him. He'd been waiting for thirteen years now.

But of course, she never returned. She could already be married. Or maybe she'd died young. He didn't know. That didn't make it more bearable. In fact, it made it even more unbearable.

He turned away from the windows and decided to curl up in a dark corner, holding his dreams inside as his throat tightened up. He felt so isolated as he pressed his hands over his eyes. He wanted to shut everything out. Forget it all because it would do him a great deal. His chest hurt. His mind hurt even more. He heaved silently as tears ran down his cheeks. He should stop writing now. Put his mask back on.

Nobody would ever know of this.

Inuyasha reached over and closed his leather-bound book, throwing his pen to the other side of his room. He picked himself up and walked over to the nearby fireplace. Holding onto the book tightly, he stared at the flames, listened to their crackling as the burning wood shifted. Once it was done, he couldn't turn back. He would have to keep moving, unable to stop.

If he stopped, he was sure he would die.

His grip tightened around the book as if doing so would meld the book into his being. He was going to be sick.

Quickly, he tossed the thing into the fire, rushing over to his couch and seating himself. He brought his legs up to his chest and placed his arms on his knees as he leaned back into the couch. He watched as the flames licked away at the paper in the book. The papers he'd written all of his emotions in started curling up, turning into a charcoal color. The deed was done, and now he was completely alone.

Letting his tired eyes fall, he grasped for the darkness just barely within reach. Memories of her were already starting to fade away, becoming so distant and bitter. It made him wonder if waiting for her had ever been worth it. The warm feelings he used to get whenever he thought of her face didn't come to him now. He couldn't even remember how she looked like anymore.

He fell asleep with the hope that the next day would be better.

The next day wasn't better at all. He woke up disoriented and had to force himself not to think about what he'd done.

He pulled through the day with the menial tasks he was given, and now, he stood outside the front doors with his two personal guards beside him. The white stone castle towered behind them as he glared at the blob in the distance that he knew was the carriage with his fiancée inside. He almost wished there were nobody in there. Dog-demons mated for life, so he could only hope that his father would give way and not make him go through this painful ritual of binding himself to some foreign princess.

He frowned as the carriage rolled up to a stop in front of them. It was dark blue with elegant, bright green designs decorating it. The carriage driver was surprisingly a woman with a high ponytail who had a large boomerang strapped onto her back. She wore peasant clothing, so the boomerang was an odd sight on her.

From what he'd heard, the princess in the carriage turned down several suitors. She just refused to marry. She even said she would commit suicide if she were forced into marriage. The girl had to be beautiful if she caught the eyes of so many suitors. She'd starved herself once because she was being forced to marry a prince from the south. Her parents had pulled her out of the marriage when things had gotten too out of hand.

Inuyasha's frown deepened.

The arranged marriage had been announced three days ago, and here the princess was, unaware of her predicament. She would've probably tried to escape somehow if she'd known beforehand. And this was the moment he'd been dreading since the arrangement.

When the princess stepped out of the carriage, he immediately noticed the deep frown on her face, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. She seemed to be glaring at everybody, her fists balled and shaking just a bit. Inuyasha could make out the snarl that was starting to form on her lips as her left brow twitched in either anger or annoyance. And when her gaze fell on him, everything became dead silent. The silence wasn't like anything he'd ever experienced before. Nobody breathed, moved, attempted to do anything. Even mother nature was quiet.

There was a sudden glint in her eyes, making Inuyasha's innards squirm. She raised an arm and pointed her closed fan at him. When she spoke, her demanding voice gave him the impression of a rock being smashed in half, "I, Princess Kikyo, declare you as my fiancé."

Inuyasha felt the side of his lips twitch. How charming of her to make such a declaration without the knowledge of their current marital status. At least he knew now that the woman wasn't going to do anything outrageous to land his father in some mighty trouble.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to bind himself to her.

Kikyo's next excited words made his blood go cold, "Kagome, come here! I finally found the right person!"

Out of the carriage stepped a girl who he was all too familiar with.

And he suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

* * *

He scowled, dragging a resisting Kagome by her wrist. When they were by the throne, he turned to face all of the nobles and shouted, "I won't marry Kikyo. I've chosen Kagome as my mate."

And with that, he turned to Kagome's struggling form, placed his hand behind her neck, and kissed her hard, hearing scandalized gasps erupt throughout the entire room. He pulled back from Kagome's frozen figure at the sound of someone slowly clapping.

Looking into the crowd, his stomach churned when he saw Kikyo clapping. A smirk crawled over her lips.

"Way to go, Inuyasha," she said, letting her hands fall to her sides. "You've just made an ass of yourself in front of the entire room. I guess I won't be accountable for my actions either."

Kikyo turned to Onigumo and kissed him as well. Another round of scandalized gasps flew into the air. When she pulled away, she brought a curled hand up to Inuyasha, as if she were holding onto an imaginary wine glass and ready to toast. She spoke with a beaming grin on her face, "Cheers to you and me, Inuyasha. For finding the right person."

She clinked her glass against an imaginary one and laughed.

_All Rights Reserved_ © inashosetai, May 2010


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